It's Because You Have!!! The New Testament of the Bible(Resurrection) If we look at the Bible as a literary work, many of the same themes in the Bible are present in A Tale of Two Cities. One of the most direct and prominent related themes is the idea of Sacrifice and Resurrection and how it saves people. Jesus in the New Testament sacrifices himself to save the people in his community from their sins. After his death, he resurrects himself from the dead and is seen as a hero in the New Testament for the works he performs. Similarly, Sydney Carton sacrifices himself to save Charles Darnay and his family from the savage French people, and he "resurrects" his life from a filthy drunk and becomes a kind young man; moreover, he is seen as the hero of Dickens's novel at the very end. The Bible houses the theme of Sacrifice and Resurrection and how it can save people much like Dickens does with A Tale of Two Cities. Doctor Who (Sacrifice) Much like Sydney Carton sacrifices himself for the safety of others, Clara Oswald sacrifices herself in a specific Doctor Who Episode which represents the theme of Sacrifice and how it saves people. Like most of the Doctor's companions, Clara decides to sacrifice herself so that the Doctor may live on in "Asylum of the Daleks". Without her sacrificing her life, the Doctor, along with Amy and Rory Pond would have been killed and the show would have ended. Fortunately, her sacrifice saved the Doctor and Amy and Rory Pond. Sydney Carton's sacrifice saved the lives of the Darnay family; moreover, his sacrifice and the power it had within it is similar to the sacrifice made by Clara Oswald in the TV series Doctor Who.
Doctor Who....again (Power and the Abuse of Power) With the Doctor in Doctor Who being one of the most powerful beings in the universe, he has a lot of power, and at critical points in the television series, he often abuses that power. The Marquis in A Tale of Two Cities is a monster of a man and abuses his power in France. He often kills people and takes whoever he chooses to meet his own pleasures. Similarly, the Doctor often uses his power to decide who lives in critical situations and who dies. Most of the time, he chooses to save his closest friends, but he also goes into rampages at some points in the series and abuses his power to do whatever he chooses. As heroic as many Whovians see the Doctor, he often abuses his power to shape the world in the way he thinks it should be made. The Doctor represents the theme of Power and the ways Power can be abused in Doctor Who. Lost (Vengeance Isn't Always So Sweet...) In Lost, many of its' characters have a lust for vengeance against someone or something much like Madame Defarge had against the nobility in France. Most of the people that had a lust for revenge and vengeance end their role in the television series by being killed or ostracized forever on the show. Charlie Pace wanted revenge on Ethan Rom for kidnapping Claire Littleton on the island. Though he did get his revenge and kill Rom, Pace was killed by "the Others" later in the show and met his downfall and demise. The TV show Lost contains many more of these same type of scenarios, and they all resemble the same plot of Madame Defarge. Many characters in Lost meet the same fate and downfall that Madame Defarge meets due to her rage and lust for vengeance against the nobility in France.
Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban (Resurrection) In The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, a prisoner of a prison named Azkaban escapes and the novel centers around how Harry treats this escapee. At first, the prisoner is seen as an awful man, and the reader sees him as a bad person. By the end of the novel, Harry, along with the readers, see the prisoner as a kind and friendly person who was just misunderstood. The prisoner's character is "resurrected" in a sense like Sydney Carton is "resurrected" in A Tale of Two Cities. Sydney also starts off as an awful person without hope, but he changes by the end of the novel to be a kind gentleman. Carton and the prisoner of Azkaban share a common theme of Resurrection within their characters. Antigone (Power and the Abuse of Power) In Antigone, King Creon abuses his power as king to try to scare the people of his town, and he wants to force them to fear him so he uses his power to scare the citizens much like the Marquis and the rest of the French nobility. Creon lays the death penalty down among Antigone for a tiny act of rebellion. If he used his power correctly, Antigone could still live and respect Creon as king, but Creon chooses to abuse his power in order to spread his wrath through his city. Antigone dies due to his actions; however, Creon is still disrespected by his people. Creon's abuse of power does not benefit him in his rule and turns his citizens against him as king much like the French nobility did in France. A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Vengeance Kills) Madame Defarge's attitude and self centered attitude in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is recreated in the Grandmother in the short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor. Throughout "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", the Grandmother represents everything nefarious in the story, and she is extremely self-centered. Her only concern is for herself which is similar to Madame Defarge's personality. Madame Defarge's mindset is getting revenge for herself. She does support the Revolution, but she supports it for different deeper reasons than everyone else. Her goal for the Revolution is to get back at the nobles for what they did to her family. All of this hate and self-centeredness leads to Madame Defarge's demise, and the same punishment falls upon the Grandmother in O'Connor's short story. The Grandmother is killed by the Misfit in the end of the short story; moreover, her death is a parallel to why Madame Defarge met her demise. The Grandmother in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" represents the character of Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities in the sense that they both meet their death due to their hatred and blood-lust.
The New Testament of the Bible (Resurrection)
If we look at the Bible as a literary work, many of the same themes in the Bible are present in A Tale of Two Cities. One of the most direct and prominent related themes is the idea of Sacrifice and Resurrection and how it saves people. Jesus in the New Testament sacrifices himself to save the people in his community from their sins. After his death, he resurrects himself from the dead and is seen as a hero in the New Testament for the works he performs. Similarly, Sydney Carton sacrifices himself to save Charles Darnay and his family from the savage French people, and he "resurrects" his life from a filthy drunk and becomes a kind young man; moreover, he is seen as the hero of Dickens's novel at the very end. The Bible houses the theme of Sacrifice and Resurrection and how it can save people much like Dickens does with A Tale of Two Cities.
Doctor Who (Sacrifice)
Much like Sydney Carton sacrifices himself for the safety of others, Clara Oswald sacrifices herself in a specific Doctor Who Episode which represents the theme of Sacrifice and how it saves people. Like most of the Doctor's companions, Clara decides to sacrifice herself so that the Doctor may live on in "Asylum of the Daleks". Without her sacrificing her life, the Doctor, along with Amy and Rory Pond would have been killed and the show would have ended. Fortunately, her sacrifice saved the Doctor and Amy and Rory Pond
Doctor Who....again (Power and the Abuse of Power)
With the Doctor in Doctor Who being one of the most powerful beings in the universe, he has a lot of power, and at critical points in the television series, he often abuses that power. The Marquis in A Tale of Two Cities is a monster of a man and abuses his power in France. He often kills people and takes whoever he chooses to meet his own pleasures. Similarly, the Doctor often uses his power to decide who lives in critical situations and who dies. Most of the time, he chooses to save his closest friends, but he also goes into rampages at some points in the series and abuses his power to do whatever he chooses. As heroic as many Whovians see the Doctor, he often abuses his power to shape the world in the way he thinks it should be made. The Doctor represents the theme of Power and the ways Power can be abused in Doctor Who.
Lost (Vengeance Isn't Always So Sweet...)
In Lost, many of its' characters have a lust for vengeance against someone or something much like Madame Defarge had against the nobility in France. Most of the people that had a lust for revenge and vengeance end their role in the television series by being killed or ostracized forever on the show. Charlie Pace wanted revenge on Ethan Rom for kidnapping Claire Littleton on the island. Though he did get his revenge and kill Rom, Pace was killed by "the Others" later in the show and met his downfall and demise. The TV show Lost contains many more of these same type of scenarios, and they all resemble the same plot of Madame Defarge. Many characters in Lost meet the same fate and downfall that Madame Defarge meets due to her rage and lust for vengeance against the nobility in France.
Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban (Resurrection)
In The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, a prisoner of a prison named Azkaban escapes and the novel centers around how Harry treats this escapee. At first, the prisoner is seen as an awful man, and the reader sees him as a bad person. By the end of the novel, Harry, along with the readers, see the prisoner as a kind and friendly person who was just misunderstood. The prisoner's character is "resurrected" in a sense like Sydney Carton is "resurrected" in A Tale of Two Cities. Sydney also starts off as an awful person without hope, but he changes by the end of the novel to be a kind gentleman. Carton and the prisoner of Azkaban share a common theme of Resurrection within their characters.
Antigone (Power and the Abuse of Power)
In Antigone, King Creon abuses his power as king to try to scare the people of his town, and he wants to force them to fear him so he uses his power to scare the citizens much like the Marquis and the rest of the French nobility. Creon lays the death penalty down among Antigone for a tiny act of rebellion. If he used his power correctly, Antigone could still live and respect Creon as king, but Creon chooses to abuse his power in order to spread his wrath through his city. Antigone dies due to his actions; however, Creon is still disrespected by his people. Creon's abuse of power does not benefit him in his rule and turns his citizens against him as king much like the French nobility did in France.
A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Vengeance Kills)
Madame Defarge's attitude and self centered attitude in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is recreated in the Grandmother in the short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor. Throughout "A Good Man Is Hard To Find", the Grandmother represents everything nefarious in the story, and she is extremely self-centered. Her only concern is for herself which is similar to Madame Defarge's personality. Madame Defarge's mindset is getting revenge for herself. She does support the Revolution, but she supports it for different deeper reasons than everyone else. Her goal for the Revolution is to get back at the nobles for what they did to her family. All of this hate and self-centeredness leads to Madame Defarge's demise, and the same punishment falls upon the Grandmother in O'Connor's short story. The Grandmother is killed by the Misfit in the end of the short story; moreover, her death is a parallel to why Madame Defarge met her demise. The Grandmother in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" represents the character of Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities in the sense that they both meet their death due to their hatred and blood-lust.